Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Why we accept state aid

I was raised conservative Republican.  My dad will be the first to say, everyone should work to earn what they need to live.  There shouldn't be hand-outs to people who do not need them.  There should be strict rules for people receiving this aid.  Now, regardless of what your opinion is or what you think Jesus would do, let me present you our example; by the numbers.

WIC- Government issued 'checks' for pregnant women or mothers and children.  Lists specific items that you must get. All dairy, whole grain, fruit and veggies, and proteins. Approximate value: $60/month

Soonercare: Government insurance (Medicaid)

Trevor, Miles, and I qualify for both being full time students and Trevor working part time.
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My potential take home Teaching salary-  2200 
Trevor's part time salary - 600 *we use this money for groceries, gas, and other living expenses)
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Insurance cost if I work:  Me- covered by school, Trevor and Miles 700/month thru school (Trevor doesn't qualify for insurance through CVS because he doesn't work enough hours. He already drives 45 miles each way so adding more days of work would be impractical)

Childcare cost- 600-750/month

Gas- 320/month

So 2200 (amount we would use to pay our bills)
    -1700 (cost to work, approximately)
  ----------
       500

And to me, 500 isn't worth being away from Miles 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Not to even mention how much WORK teaching is. :)



And that's why we temporarily accept state aid.  I understand that when Trevor graduates we will immediately be ineligible for all the above listed services. I would also like to add we don't abuse the services above. :)

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Mid-morning thoughts (week 11)


11 days.  This is the longest stretch of being at our house we've had since Miles was born! Crazy huh? His first nine weeks were spent making trips 4 trips to and from Missouri. I wouldn't have traded these trips for anything, Miles got to meet so many of his family members and friends that aren't here in Oklahoma.  Trevor and I also love the support and fun we get to have while we are in Missouri.  We got to fish, go shopping, even nap while our parents watched Miles. 

 
Since being here for nearly two weeks, Trevor has been doing his Pharmacy rotation which takes him from 7:30-4:30 daily.  He also works on Saturdays from 10am-9pm so it's mostly Miles and I (and Samson and Ezra) during the day.  Between Trevor being gone with our only car, and breastfeeding exclusively we've really slowed down the last 11 days.


Having a forced slow down has caused a little bit of a change in my parenting.  While I used to be a 'lay him down for every nap and get stuff done parent', I've found myself realizing that this may be the only baby I can hold for naps.  Assuming we have more children, the next babies will always have to have their needs balanced with their older siblings.

 
I've also got to see Miles' natural napping patterns.  He is a morning and mid-morning napper.  He wakes up around 6:30-7:30 every morning and eats. He goes back to sleep until around 9:30-10 and then eats and naps some more. He wakes up around noon and wants to eat again.  He sleeps until 2 pm and then is up for the afternoon. He will stay awake until 8-10 pm  when he goes down for the night.
 
 
He is growing up quickly these days. He has started being really interested in toys and his surroundings.  A lot of his awake time is spent playing with me or by himself.
 
He stares at the hanging toys and then slowly and deliberately reaches for them.
 
He's started gripping toys and reaching for my phone
 
 
He's so alert and has even decided he thinks he likes the pups. Who surprisingly, give him his own space most of the time. 
 
 
Every day he seems to learn something new. Exciting times!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Miles' birth story

Monday, April 22 I went to my regular OB appointment.   At this point I'd been on a relaxed bed rest for a week because of a blood pressure spike at 36 weeks.   I had 4 non-stress tests and all had shown the baby to be good, and trace amounts of protein in my urine.   Basically, I was the one having health problems, not Miles so we continued to just monitor the situation closely.

At this appointment my blood pressure was still higher than they wanted it (150s/90s) I knew something was different when my doctor came in and sat down.  He told me that up to this point, the baby had been better off inside of me, but he was growing concerned that the placenta was taking blood away from the baby.  He went on to say that if we didn't deliver soon, he wasn't sure how the baby would handle the labor.  All that flashed through my mind was C-section and how I DID NOT want one.  He sent me to get another non-stress test.

I texted Trevor, my parents, and my in-laws to tell them the current standings and that I was in a hospital gown, with an IV port. This is not how I envisioned my labor starting.  As the test results came back, everything was the same as it had been my doctor sort of left the ball in my court.  I decided that I would much rather be induced now, when both me and the baby could deal with labor, then to hold out and possibly have to have surgery.

I was started on Pitocin about 3:00 on Monday afternoon.  The nurse came and raised it every 15 minutes. They told me that most people are crawling out of bed and screaming for medicine before it gets to 20ml/hour.  So I waited. Trevor came, parents started their drive to Oklahoma.  By 9:00 I was up to the max dose of 40ml/hour.  I could feel my stomach tightening, but no pain.  I KNEW this couldn't be labor.

I had opted for the doctor to not break my water, because I didn't want all the internal monitoring, catheter, etc.  By 11:00pm my body was no longer responding to the Pitocin so they stopped the pump and Trevor and I went to sleep. They planned to start it up at 3:00am the next morning after my body had been flushed of it.

(not feeling a thing)
 
Morning came, more Pitocin and still no labor.  I hadn't dilated at all from the 1cm I started out. I sent the boys to the house to do some repairs and stayed at the hospital with my mom and mother-in-law.  At 10:30am the doctor came in and asked again about breaking my water.  At this point I was feeling a lot of pressure to just have the baby since everyone had driven from Missouri to see him.  So I agreed.  By the time I was prepped for this it was 11:15.

OUCH.  It was a lot more 'water' than I thought it would be. It hurt to have him break it because I wasn't dilated very far and he was ramming this crochet hook looking thing up there. When he started I was a 'stretchy 1' and when he finished breaking my water I was a 3.  Then they hooked up some internal monitors.   The nurse started cleaning up the mess and when she was finished with that (about 15 minutes later) I was a 6.  Then the contractions started.  They came solid.  I didn't want any one talking except to tell me when it was almost over.  I also remember asking my mom to get Trevor to come back.  The nurse came into check on me a few minutes later, and I decided that I wanted some pain medicine.

After I was done with getting hooked up with the good stuff, the nurse checked me again.  I was a 10! She said she would call the doctor and let him know I was a 9.5 so it would give Miles a little more time to descend.  His heart rate was also dropping a little during this time because everything was happening so fast so they hooked me up with some oxygen and had me lay on my side. Trevor finally made it back, having missed all the excitement, and I was starting to feel a little better.

At 12:30 the Dr. Hensley came in rolling this big table of tools. EEk. I got put in the stirrups and Dr. Hensley announced that he could see Miles' hair. So both moms took a peak and I felt down there and yep, sure enough hair!  I gave a practice push and the nurse told me I was a natural.  I pushed through the next 3 contractions, 3 pushes each.  And then he was here! 1:09 pm.  They slopped him up on my stomach right away and we started wiping him down. 

After a few minutes they asked if they could take him and get him all cleaned up and checked out since he was early.  I hung out getting stitched up while Trevor and our moms accompanied Miles across the room to the warmer to get weighed, measured, and stats. He was eventually returned to me for skin-to-skin because his temperature was lower then they wanted it to be. (97.9)  After we were piled with warm blankets both grandpas and uncle Travis came in to check out Miles.

About and hour later he was warm enough to be passed around and got to meet all the people who love him the most! Welcome baby boy!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Week 10 (2 month well-visit)

Miles,

When I look at you lately, I'm in shock at how big you got all of a sudden.   You seem to have really alert days followed by sleepy days.  You and I have had lots of time together as dad is doing his hospital pharmacy rotation.  We've been reading Shel Silverstein poems, working on my master's degree, and meeting friends for a picnic.

 
 
You have been practicing your smile some more. I think this is my favorite one. It's the way your big smiles start.  I had to try hard to capture it.  You were looking straight at me and just babbling and grinning like crazy.  I love the shape of your face, and your semi-chunky cheeks.  Your hair seems a little longer lately, but still doesn't show up in photos much.
 


Here is your month two, broken up by weeks.  I can tell the biggest difference in your face.  You also don't hold your legs close to your body much anymore.  It makes you look a lot longer.  We went to your two month well-visit, July 2.  You were 10lbs 4oz and 23 inches long.  Your head was 41 cm around!  Dr. Long was very happy with your weight gain and growth.  You met all your 2 month milestones.  You can grasp your hands, lift your chin off the ground when you are laying on your stomach, babble, smile, make eye contact, and turn your head toward a noise. 
 
 You also got your shots. You did really great and you were only a little fussy that day.  The next day all you wanted to do was breastfeed. It wore me out, but you seemed happy when you were eating.  I felt like human pacifier!  All that being said, you still won't take a bottle.  You haven't in over a week at all. You've probably had 3 bottles in the last month. I won't lie, now that you've got the hang of nursing, it's a lot easier than pumping all the time.  It's faster at night. 

You've been sleeping 6 hours at night in a row the first stretch.  After you eat you sleep another 3ish before you are up for the day.  Oh, how I wish you'd sleep 4-5 more after that feeding. Mama is tired!

 
 
You also had your first fourth of July.  You had a great time hanging out with Kim and Morgan while all the guys played video games. You are truly more fun every day! We love you bubula!